Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 17,598 Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,150,929 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,598 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Avantor were worth $24,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Avantor by 99.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Avantor by 106.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Avantor by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Avantor by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Avantor in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Avantor

In other news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $86,019.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $711,788.12. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $65,877.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares in the company, valued at $1,531,753.87. This represents a 4.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Avantor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVTR opened at $15.15 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.07. Avantor, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.93 and a 52 week high of $28.00. The firm has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $17.78 and its 200-day moving average is $20.96.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.01. Avantor had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 10.49%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AVTR shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price target (down previously from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Avantor in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 target price (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avantor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.50.

Avantor Company Profile

Avantor, Inc engages in the provision of mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education and government, advanced technologies, and applied materials industries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers materials and consumables, such as purity chemicals and reagents, lab products and supplies, formulated silicone materials, customized excipients, customized single-use assemblies, process chromatography resins and columns, analytical sample prep kits, education and microbiology products, clinical trial kits, peristaltic pumps, and fluid handling tips.